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Hello world! We’re back with a celebratory issue – Number 10 – and in some ways it feels like we’re now all grown up. This milestone has been made all the sweeter by the ongoing energy, hard work and enthusiasm from all the Kill Your Darlings staff and volunteers, and by you, dear reader – so thank you for continuing to be part of the journey. We look forward to bringing you more quality Australian writing in the future.

You might have also noticed a bit of a design refresh. In collaboration with our cover illustrator Guy Shield we’ve redeveloped the aesthetic and narrative direction of the covers. We’ve retained some continuity in the design, but we’re keen to mark this issue as one of growth and maturation, and also get a bit of sunshine and light in there. We hope you like it.

Issue 10 sees Gideon Haigh fittingly return to our pages. You may remember Gideon’s feature article on the state of Australian literary reviewing in our inaugural issue, back in March 2010, which caused something of a stir in the book world. He’s writing again in a similar vein, this time frankly evaluating his experiences producing his latest book, The Office, a masterful two-hundred thousand word tome which traces the early incarnations of offices to today’s gleaming glass towers of New York.

Gideon’s article touches on an issue that fascinates many: the commercialisation of writing. This may seem like something of a tautology – publishing and published work is most often than not profitable in nature. But in this age of The Book Festival – the celebration of the book as object, as fully-formed, shiny commercial entity – there’s not nearly enough conversation about the practice of writing, such as the complexities of being a writer, the hardship and the loneliness, and the financial inadequacies. And the one question frequently missing from the multitude of panels on how to become a writer is: why do you want to be a writer?

Other timely commentary in this issue includes Eiley Ormsby’s insight into the world of travel hacking, where syndicates around the world vie to scoop the best travel deals. Elsewhere, novelist Kylie Ladd examines complex race relations in Broome, where she moved with her family to experience cultural diversity. Estelle Tang looks at what all the Ryan Gosling fuss is about, star of films including Drive and The Notebook, while Gillian Terzis writes candidly about her anxiety and panic attacks.

In Fiction, we’re showcasing new stories from acclaimed novelists Debra Adelaide and Jon Bauer. Kill Your Darlings also chatted with Miles Franklin-award winner Andrew McGahan, author of the cult classic Praise, and The White Earth. His new book, The Coming of the Whirlpool, is Book 1 a four-book young-adult fantasy series set on the high-seas.

In Reviews, Julia Tulloh investigates sultry songstress Lana Del Rey’s success, and how her relationship with the critics has changed as she’s risen to worldwide fame, and Rebecca Harkins-Cross reviews David Cronenberg’s new film, A Dangerous Method, examining where the work fits in the Canadian director’s fascinating and often grotesque oeuvre. Enjoy!

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Publishing Director and Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Starford is a former editor at Text Publishing, and has worked for Affirm Press and Australian Book Review. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Age, and Weekend Australian, and her debut memoir, Bad Behaviour, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2015. @RebeccaStarford